Fufu

Ingredients

Fufu

• 1.2 kgwhite yam (igname), peeled and cut in 4 cm rounds
• Water, to cover
• ½ tspsalt (optional)
• A bowl of warm water, for wetting hands and pestle

Groundnut sauce (sauce d’arachide)

• 250 gunsweetened roasted groundnut paste
• 3 tbspred palm oil
• 1onion, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 4tomatoes, blended
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2red chillies, blended
• 500 ggoat or beef, cut in 4 cm pieces
• 1 tspground dried ginger
• 1 litrewater
• 2 tspsalt

Directions

1. Brown the meat in the palm oil in a heavy pot over high heat for 5 minutes, then lift it out and fry the onion in the same oil for 8 minutes until golden.
2. Add the garlic, tomato paste and chillies, fry 4 minutes until the paste darkens, then the blended tomato and ginger. Cook 15 minutes until thick and the oil rises.
3. Loosen the groundnut paste with 200 ml of the water to a smooth cream, stir it in with the meat and the rest of the water, and simmer uncovered over low heat for 40 minutes, stirring often so it does not catch, until a layer of reddish oil floats on the surface. Season with salt.
4. Meanwhile boil the yam in salted water for 20–25 minutes until a knife goes through with no resistance. Drain, keeping a cup of the cooking water.
5. Tip the hot yam into a wooden mortar. One person pounds with the pestle while another turns the mass between strikes with a wet hand – this is a two-person job and the rhythm matters.
6. Pound for 10–15 minutes, wetting the pestle and hands, until there is not a single lump and the dough is smooth, elastic and pulls in long stretchy strands.
7. Add splashes of the hot cooking water if it is too stiff. Correct fufu is soft enough to swallow without chewing, firm enough to hold a shape.
8. Wet your hands, break off portions, roll them into smooth balls and set them in bowls. Ladle the groundnut sauce around them and eat with the right hand, pinching off a piece, denting it with the thumb and scooping sauce.

Technique

• Fufu is swallowed, not chewed. That is why lumps matter so much – the texture must be completely uniform.
• Pounding builds gluten-like elasticity in the yam starch that no machine fully reproduces, but a stand mixer with a dough hook, or a food processor in short bursts with hot water, is the honest home workaround.
• West African yam is not sweet potato. Use true white yam (Dioscorea), sold in African and Caribbean shops – it is dry, starchy and pale.

Substitutions

• Instant fufu flour (yam, plantain or cassava) whisked into boiling water and beaten hard for 5 minutes is what most urban households now use.
• Half yam and half green plantain, or yam and cassava, gives a softer dough and is common in southern Togo.

Variations

• Fufu with sauce graine, made from boiled palm nuts pressed for their thick orange pulp.
• Fufu with a light tomato and smoked fish sauce, the everyday weekday version.

History

Akan pounded staple of cassava and plantain, worked in a wooden mortar; the pounding rhythm is a fixture of forest-village afternoons.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fufu?

Fufu is a main from DR Congo: stiff cassava-corn flour swallow rolled to scoop stews. Akan pounded staple of cassava and plantain, worked in a wooden mortar; the pounding rhythm is a fixture of forest-village afternoons.

How long does Fufu take to make?

Fufu takes 20 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Fufu?

Yes, within limits. Instant fufu flour (yam, plantain or cassava) whisked into boiling water and beaten hard for 5 minutes is what most urban households now use. Half yam and half green plantain, or yam and cassava, gives a softer dough and is common in southern Togo.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fufu?

Fufu is swallowed, not chewed. That is why lumps matter so much – the texture must be completely uniform.